Melody

I will be in Paris for 5 days in next month and would like to take trips to Versailles, Rouen, and Giverny. What is the approximate time needed to see Versailles pretty well (half day, full day?), and is it possible to do a single day trip to Giverny and Rouen both? I'm having a hard time judging train distances, amount of time needed to see the two cities, and if it's possible to get on one train line to pass by both and get back to Paris

Jen

I had a similar question about Versailles a month ago. Most replies said you can do Versailles in a half-day. If I am not mistaken, the train is about an hour to Versailles.<BR><BR>Try this website for more information:<BR>http://www.chateauversailles.fr/<BR><BR>

Jc

From SNCF.com site, Paris Lazare to Vernon(Giverny),train 1 hour 20 minute, depart hourly. From Vernon to Rouen 35 minutes. However, from Paris direct to Rouen,only takes 1 hour 5 minutes.<BR><BR>Theoreticallt,you could do it in one day,leve Paris ealiy for Giverny open, 2 hours in the garden,then train to Rouen, walk to the old town, the cathedral,Abbey and the market, have a nice dinner, back to Paris by night train(train leave hourly). However, it would be rush a little. Since I have spent whole day in Versaille,Giverny each,and 2 nights in Rouen.

elvira

We did Giverny and Versailles in the same day, but we hired a car and driver to be more efficient. ParisVision has a coach tour that does Giverny and Versailles in one day, costs about US$100.<BR><BR>You could take all day to visit Versailles, but 3 1/2 hours will give you a pretty good look at the place (we arrived at Versailles at opening time, with a museum pass, done by one o'clock, onto Giverny from there). Rouen really needs a full day.

Bob Brown

The best travel time from Gare St. Lazare to Vernon is 46 minutes. The trains leave at 8:15 and 12:04<BR><BR>The best travel times to Rouen are 65 minutes. The French SNCF site gives you the schedules, and there is an English overlay which you can obtain by clicking on the British flag.<BR><BR>For once I disagree with Elvira by a small percentage. I think you need 4 - 5 hours for Versailles, particularly if you want to visit the outlying hideaways like the Petite Trianon and the Grand Trianon. The gardens are extensive and worth a good look.<BR>There are also several variations on the basic tour that we took which went through the King's bed chamber and the Hall of Mirrors.<BR><BR>Rouen and Giverny on the same day?<BR>Hmm. Giverny does not open until 10 AM, therefore if you left on the early train at 8:16, arriving 9:01, your would be at the gates of Giverny before they opened. <BR>The gardens close at 6 PM.<BR>There is a train back to Paris at 8:40 PM and a slightly earlier one at 19:15.<BR><BR>We went to Vernon on the 12:04 and rode the 18:04 train back. The 6 hours gave us a little extra time.<BR>The last train from Rouen back to Paris leaves at 20:44 and arrives at 21:50<BR><BR>You could make both of them, but you would need to move it along.<BR>By the way, the actual distance is a secondary consideration, or even third. You need to consider first and foremost the travel time, and the opening of the various attractions.<BR><BR>If you take the train to Versailles, the closest station to the palace is Versailles Rive Gauche. There are other stations there including Versailles Rive Gauche and Versailles Chantier.<BR><BR>RER line C with an origin point of Austerlitz goes to Versailles Rive Gauche. The trip takes about 45 minutes. If you take the train from Invalides, the trip is a few minutes shorter. There is an earlier train at 7:53 that arrives at Rive Gauche at 8:28. That way you have time to walk to the entrance of the palace and be there before it opens at 9 AM. <BR><BR>Most of the guide books say go early.<BR>Not true in my experience. We were there before the gates opened and were among the first to enter that morning.<BR>By the time we got to the King's Bedchamber, the "Paris mob" had engulfed us and people were so thick in the Hall of Mirrors that it was difficult to get a good look at it.<BR>A late afternoon visit might be better in hopes that the tour groups had gone on to better things. <BR><BR>